NONS Kickstarter Launches for New Instax Mini Camera SL645

NONS Camera is launching a Kickstarter campaign on October 31, 2022, for a new camera that will shoot Instax mini film. The SL645 will be a manually controlled metal construction designed for the native EF mount. The seven-member Shenzhen-based startup has had a busy year so far, already launching the Instax-square shooting SL660 and 35mm F2.4 lens.

While SL645 has a native EF mount, other lenses can be used with an adapter such as M42, Nikon F, PK, CY & medium format mount. Photographers will have full manual control with settings for shutter speed and aperture. There are modes for bulb shooting and multiple exposures. An external flash can be mounted as well onto the hot shoe.

NONS’ first camera, the SL42, also shoots Instax mini film so I asked them about the differences to the SL645.

Firstly, the viewfinder now has the broadest coverage available in the NONS range thanks to an internal focal reducer. Vignetting control has also been improved in the SL645. The main construction of the body is now metal, specifically a CNC anodized aluminium alloy. Lastly, the shutter motion delay has been improved to about 0.05 seconds which is much faster than the 0.5 seconds of the SL42.

There are going to be 3 tiers in the Kickstarter as well as a few add-ons. Tier 1 & 2 will be limited offers. MSRP is 539 USD (~4220 HKD). Once the Kickstarter is live, the details of benefits for each tier will be announced.

Tier 1, 3199 HKD. (~ 407 USD)

Tier 2, 3299 HKD. (~ 420 USD)

Tier 3, 3379 HKD. (~ 430 USD)

Add-ons include NONS’s 50mm F1.8 lens, and 35mm F2.4 lens as well as 4 types of adapters for Nikon F, M42, PK, and CY lenses.

The add-on 35mm F2.4 lens was released this year. NONS has been working with an OEM to manufacture these lenses, however, they are also researching the process of making lenses themselves. NONS tells me it took them a while to find a proper solution for a lens with less vignetting and closer minimum focus distance. At last, they reached a deal after several months of negotiation with the suppliers. Having lens engineering and production in house would mean avoiding this process that can prolong or delay the creation of a new product.

With plans to release their in-house lens designs in the future, they have already been working on an optical enlargement module which enlarges the image field from full frame to medium format size. The module has 3 optical glass elements with an anti-reflective coating. This has been a learning process for the team and they have completed several feasibility studies. This is one to watch!

Originating in Hong Kong, NONS moved to Shenzhen for better supply chain availability. After the move, the team assembled their workshop and now make products there such as the SL660. Their first camera released in 2020 was the SL42, a camera that could use M42 lenses and focus manually while shooting Instax film. True to their mission of wanting to bring interesting cameras to the market, their line up is impressive.

Head over to Kickstarter using the link here for more information on the new SL645 campaign. If you’d like to see more about NONS and their products, you can click on this link here to go to their website.

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